fast and curious

January 2014

Now, let me share a little known fact: when I was a kid, I was a terrible cook. My mother once caught me adding 1 cup of baking soda to a cornbread recipe - instead of a mere 1 tablespoon. You can imagine how that would have turned out! Granted, I was in elementary school - but coming from a family of great cooks, it chafed to be bad. So, I took a break from culinary endeavors… for years.

It wasn’t until I was out of college and living on my own that I tentatively started cooking. I devoured food magazines - especially articles about cooking techniques and the science of food preparation. Understanding why things are prepared a certain way and how to ensure a great outcome made me more confident in the kitchen - and more relaxed about not following recipes exactly.

Which brings me to Joyce Maynard’s pie lesson. Joyce’s secret is that “it’s not about the recipe - it’s how you handle the dough” - and to learn by watching someone make a good pie. So I set about learning her technique and watching and re-watching the lesson. Joyce is all about keeping her ingredients cold, handling them as little as possible, and not worrying if the dough doesn’t look perfect. And you know what? She was right.

When the pies came out of the oven, they didn’t look perfect. They looked homemade. But when it came time for the Curious team to eat them - nobody declined and some even went back for seconds!

As Joyce shared in a recent Parade article, her pie-making career began the summer her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Joyce spent a great deal of time with her mother during those months, cooking for her and her visiting friends. Growing up, her mother taught her that making a homemade pie is a gift of love. Joyce baked a pie almost every day that summer.

After her mother’s death, Joyce began teaching others how to make and share this delicious gift, always remembering her mother’s method: “Crisco for flakiness, butter for flavor. Use as little water as possible. Don't cut up the apples so small you'll end up with applesauce. Never overhandle the dough.”

Joyce’s family recipe and pie-making skills come to life in Paramount’s upcoming film Labor Day, based on her best-selling novel.

Photo credit: Dale Robinette

Check out CEO Justin Kitch’s blog for more info about the Curious 52 Challenge and for a chance to win two free tickets to the upcoming film.

And...when you’re ready to make your pie, don’t forget Joyce’s advice, “it’s not about the recipe, it’s about how you handle the dough.”

Step 1: Got my kids involved. I've learned that doing things with your kids is (often) a lot more fun, (frequently) the only way to get something done, and (pretty much never) easier. It went something like this:

Me: "We're going to take a Curious lesson tonight!"

Them: "Yay!"

Me: "We're going to learn to dance!"

Them: "Ok. Do I get a cupcake if I dance?"

That's how we roll at my house.

Step 2: Set up the laptop on the coffee table and hit play. And that's when they locked in. They counted along with Curious teacher Ryan Perez. 1, 2, 3... 5, 6, 7... They clapped along, getting louder and sillier, crazier and bouncier. Hey! They're having a lot of fun!

And no, I did not promise them a cupcake if they danced.

They had actually already had cupcakes. Might explain a lot.

Step 3: Danced. My 8-year-old was too cool to dance, so he just wanted to count and clap along. My 5-year-old interpreted the "small steps" in the lesson as "giant strides that make you do the splits, then fall on the floor giggling".

At some point between 5 and 8 years old, a child goes from thinking dancing is better when you're giggling uncontrollably on the floor to being too cool to dance with your father. And so they may not remember much of the salsa lesson they took tonight, but they know they had fun. And they know that doing something new, something different, something unexpected, something with their dad can make for a great evening. And I know I can't do anything approaching the splits. That's a lot of learning for just a few minutes.

One of the reasons we work at Curious - besides recess, of course - is because we are passionate about learning new things. That’s why we’re so excited about the Curious 52 Challenge and have decided to take it with you!

Each week, the Curious team will be posting about our own learning adventure - and sharing our unique take on the lessons. Don’t worry, we aren’t experts either, so we’ll need to get creative. Like Sean Vigue says, “modify as needed!”

With its relatively easy sequence of exercises, we can vouch that this lesson was truly designed for beginners. For us, it was a fantastic way to get ready for recess! And our favorite moment was...“The Swim” [5:13].

Avid runner or swimmer? You can even use this lesson as a nice warm-up or cool-down routine. And, at only 8 minutes, it’s easy to fit into any busy schedule.

There seems to be a great divide in the fitness world between pilates and yoga enthusiasts. We’ve started off the Challenge with a pilates lesson, but there will surely be a yoga lesson too.